These Companies Went Public and Raised the Most Money

GEN’s research turned up some 25 IPOs that launched between January and June of this year. Most of those (19) began trading in the United States, though to be fair, that number included companies headquartered outside the U.S.—including the companies that ranked highest, and number-three, on this year's List.

Even after those companies were added to seven whose IPOs were pending and two that were postponed or withdrawn as of June 30, the number of biopharmas selling their first public stock between January and June of this year was only about half the 64 IPOs counted by GEN as being launched or pending during the first half of 2015. Two key reasons for the plunge in IPOs: China’s four-month suspension of IPO activity plus a selloff of biotech shares by investors worried that Washington will limit what companies could charge for therapies.

Biotech investors remain somewhat wary. Despite a strong July, shares of the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Exchange-Traded Fund as of July 29 closed at $289.44, 27% below the all-time high of $398 on July 20, 2015. The First Trust New York Stock Exchange Arca Biotech Fund has fallen 24%, to $100.26 on July 29, from a high of $131.45 on July 17, 2015.

Of this year’s top 20 IPOs, six came from Massachusetts (the largest share), and three each from California and China. At least as encouraging is the spread of IPO companies, with two based in Texas, and one each in Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and India. Companies outside the U.S. accounted for half of GEN’s Top 20 Biopharma IPOs of January-June 2015.

Below is a list of the 20 largest biotech IPOs that were completed, or at least began trading shares, as of June 30. Each IPO is listed by name of company, amount raised (usually net proceeds), date of completion, number of shares sold and price per share, trading symbol and market(s) where shares are traded. Non U.S.-money amounts were all converted to U.S. dollars.

Not included are pending IPOs that have been filed by companies but have yet to be priced or commence trading, as well as IPOs that have been publicly discussed—whether by executives or in news reports—but not yet filed.

Many of the pending IPOs would be large enough to warrant inclusion on this list had they been launched—such as biosimilar developer Samsung Bioepis’ planned offering, which has been described in South Korean news outlets as potentially reaching KRW 3 trillion ($2.7 billion); and China Resources Pharmaceutical Group, which in late June said it planned to raise $1 billion when its IPO is launched later in the third quarter.

#20. Pulse Biosciences

Amount:$20.25 million in net proceeds 1

Date: May 18

Shares/Price per share: 5,749,846 shares at $4 1

#19. Oncobiologics

Amount: $29.8 millionin net proceeds

Date: May 13

Shares/Price per share: 5,833,334 units at $6. 2

#18. GeNeuro

Amount: $32.3 million (€29.4 million) in net proceeds

Date: April 15

Shares/Price: 2,538,500 shares at $14.30 (€13)

#17. Sinco Pharmaceutical Holdings

Amount: $35.71 million (HK$277.07 million) in net proceeds 3

Date: March 10

Shares/Price per share: 400 million shares at HK$0.80 ($0.10) 4

#16. Proteostasis Therapeutics

Amount: $42.887 million in net proceeds

Date: February 11

Shares/Price per share: 6.25 million shares at $8

#15. Clearside Biomedical

Amount: $43.9 million in estimated net proceeds 5

Date: June 2

Shares/Price per share: 7.2 million shares at $7 5

#14. Aeglea Biotherapeutics

Amount: $47.3 million in net proceeds 6

Date: April 7

Shares/Price per share: 5,481,940 shares at $10 6

#13. Syros Pharmaceuticals

Amount: Approximately $50.5 million in estimated net proceeds 7

Date: June 30

Shares/Price per share: 4.6 million shares at $12.50 7

#12. Syndax Pharmaceuticals

Amount: $50.6 million in net proceeds 8

Date: March 3

Shares/Price per share: 4,809,475 shares at $12 8

#11. Merus

References
1 Includes partial exercise by underwriters of the over-allotment option for an additional 749,846 common shares at the IPO price. The underwriters could have purchased up an additional 750,000 common shares at the IPO price.
2 Each unit consists of one share of common stock, one-half of a Series A warrant and one-half of a Series B warrant. Each whole Series A warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Oncobiologics' common stock at an initial exercise price of $6.60, subject to adjustment. Each whole Series B warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Oncobiologics' common stock at an initial exercise price of $8.50, subject to adjustment.
3 Net proceeds figure includes HK$264.9 million ($34.15 million) disclosed for Global Offering upon listing of shares, plus an additional HK$12.16 million ($1.56 million) in net proceeds following partially exercise by underwriters of the over-allotment option for an additional 15.22 million shares at the offering price. The underwriters could have purchased an additional 60 million common shares at the IPO price, since the overallotment was up to 15% of company’s initial offer shares.
4 Only 40 million of the Global Offering shares were traded on the Hong Kong Exchange; the rest were offered internationally.
5 Clearside has granted the underwriters of its IPO a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.08 million shares of common stock from the company at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, to cover over-allotments, if any. If the underwriters exercised that option in full, Clearside has estimated that its net proceeds would rise to approximately $50.9 million, from the $43.9 million estimated for the original offering of 7.2 million shares.
6 Includes partial exercise by underwriters of the over-allotment option for an additional 481,940 common shares at the IPO price. The underwriters could have purchased up an additional 750,000 common shares at the IPO price.
7 Includes an additional 600,000 shares, for which underwriters exercised in full their 30-day over-allotment option to purchase from the company at the same price per share. Company at deadline had yet to furnish a net proceeds figure beyond the estimate that was offered in its prospectus.
8 Includes partial exercise by underwriters of the over-allotment option for an additional 409,475 common shares at the IPO price, which added $4.6 million in net proceeds to the $46 million in aggregate net proceeds from the offering. The underwriters could have purchased up an additional 660,000 common shares at the IPO price.
9 Includes partial exercise by underwriters of the over-allotment option for an additional 639,926 common shares at the IPO price. The underwriters could have purchased up an additional 825,000 common shares at the IPO price.
10 Includes an additional 825,000 shares of Class A common stock, for which underwriters exercised in full their 30-day over-allotment option to purchase from the company at the same price per share.
11 Selecta said on June 27 it had granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of common stock from the company at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, to cover over-allotments, if any. If the underwriters exercised that option in full, Selecta estimated that its net proceeds would rise from the $61.2 million generated by the original offering of 5 million shares, to approximately $71.0 million.
12 NantHealth said June 7 it had also granted its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 975,000 shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. If the underwriters exercised that option in full, NantHealth estimated that its net proceeds would rise to approximately $96.3 million, compared with its $83.3 million estimate for the public offering.
13 Includes an additional 885,000 shares of Class A common stock, for which underwriters exercised in full their 30-day over-allotment option to purchase from the company at the same price per share.
14 Includes partial exercise by underwriters of the over-allotment option for an additional 527,941 common shares at the IPO price. The underwriters could have purchased up an additional 712,500 common shares at the IPO price.
15 Includes partial exercise by underwriters of the over-allotment option for an additional 660,000 ADSs at the IPO price, which raised an additional $8.91 million in gross proceeds, Chi-Med said. The company’s announcements do not include net proceeds figures, which may be disclosed when first-half 2016 financial results are released on August 2. The underwriters could have purchased up an additional 1.125 million ADSs at the IPO price.
16 Includes an additional 900,000 shares of Class A common stock, for which underwriters exercised in full their 30-day over-allotment option to purchase from the company at the same price per share.
17 Includes an additional 990,000 ADSs, for which underwriters exercised in full their 30-day over-allotment option to purchase from the company at the same price per share.